I think that there are multiple issues at play here. Firstly, we need to have female role models available and accessible to our young girls so that they can fully understand what is achievable. There also needs to be stronger mentoring and connections between women tracking into STEM fields-- at all levels. Finally we need to develop strategies to retain STEM professionals with advanced degrees (i.e. for example developing policies that allow them to balance family and work better).

I am a 30 yrs old female physics post-doc. There are many factors why women don't choose to start a PhD in the first place; but if they do gain a PhD, then from my point of view, incompatibility of academic career with having family is a huge problem. How do you renconcile current system of having short term contracts in your 30s and the pressure in tenure track-like positions with having a baby?

Great question - I'll reply that in a future Q&A post. But the short answer is: as of now, I really don't know, I've just been postponing having a family and not even considering starting a family because I have no idea how I'd combine it all...

I have had the discussion a couple of times in the past. It might be that the absence of female role models plays a role for some female students in terms of career choice. But I don't think it is an important role, because in reality most of my friends don't feel like that. I also think that you can combine family and kids if you have the support from the family and the institution. These two aspects are the most favoured aspects in this discussion, but I think there is another crucial element: the partner. Often the (male) partner is older and further in his career than the female partner. Combined with the fact that female professionals are more flexible in the job hunt than males you can see the following: He finishes his postdoc and she finishes her PhD. They move to his next postdoc or tenure track locality and she looks for something to earn money (which is often not in the field she was trained for). And out of the game she is. This is a simple example, but I think we loose more female professionals due to that that the lack of role models.